Thailand & Cambodia agree to 'immediate ceasefire', effective Dec. 27, 1pm S'pore time

Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to an immediate ceasefire with effect from on Dec. 27, 2025, 12pm local time (1pm Singapore time) to end weeks of deadly clashes.

Reuters reported that their defence ministers said in a joint statement on the ceasefire: "Both sides agree to maintain current troop deployments without further movement."

The agreement was signed on Dec. 27 by Thai Defence Minister Natthaphon Nakrphanit and his Cambodian counterpart Tea Seiha, Reuters reported, adding that this ended 20 days of fighting that has killed at least 101 people and displaced more than half a million on both sides.

Both countries agreed in the agreement that civilians residing in the affected border areas can return to their homes, The Straits Times reported.

The agreement also called for Thailand to return 18 Cambodian soldiers if the ceasefire lasts for 72 hours.

Talks

This comes after three days of talks between the two countries, Al Jazeera reported.

Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan had previously urged both Thailand and Cambodia to de-escalate the situation, resume talks and resolve their dispute "peacefully".

He said in a Dec. 22 Facebook post that Singapore was "deeply concerned" about the ongoing situation along the Cambodia-Thailand border.

Conflict

Prior to this, an earlier ceasefire brokered by U.S. president Donald Trump broke down in early December, CNA reported.

Reuters previously reported that Thailand and Cambodia accused each other of moves that led to the breakdown of the July truce, which was expanded into a wider agreement in October to help settle the conflict.

The two countries have long disputed sections of their 817km land border, Reuters reported, adding that the latest fighting stretched from forested inland areas near Laos to coastal provinces.

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